Jessika Lynch

"Vision is the art of seeing things invisible." - Jonathan Swift

Founder and Board

What have you done for other TED events?

In addition to TEDxAmsterdamED, I also help with the program team of TEDxAmsterdam and have been the communications director for TEDxYouth. I have also been part of TEDActive in the US, and attend TED - facilitated organizers' events and workshops whenever I can.

Give a sentence or two about who you are and what you do.

Kids; learning; society; connection. These are the four topics that mostly keep me occupied, and extend into much of my work and free time.
Through my company Next Step Communications I work on freelance projects with social impact - mostly where education and technology meet, but sometimes also where this extends to learning culture within organizations as well as personal development.
At TEDx I wear many hats but my main one is as curator of the program at TEDxAmsterdamED and working with the speakers to communicate their stories on stage.
At home I'm a proud mom of two boys and wife to a great teacher.

What motivated you to get involved with TEDxAmsED?

We started TEDxAmsterdamED because we wanted more people involved in education! TEDx is a good platform for this, as the brand is such that there is an inherent right to cover topics which may otherwise only be covered from the 'inside.' I believe education must connect to society and to the rest of the world in order to innovate and succeed.
That is what got me involved. In the years since we began, I've become convinced that cultivating lifelong learners needs to be our goal as a society. The fact that TEDxAmsterdamED is contributing to this growing movement is what keeps me involved.

Favorite Ted Talk

There are so many TED talks that have touched me in some way or another, but this particular one about connection is funny, interesting, and contains a song that has stuck with me since I first saw this talk live five years ago.
Ze Frank is a comedian and entrepreneur. What this talk really says to me is that we all have the ability and power, from wherever we stand in the world and whatever our strengths and chosen professions are, to connect positively to our fellow humans. It's just brilliant.